Chapter 201: Subordinates???

’The Hell?!!’

The officer swallowed hard, his voice dying in his throat as he slowly turned his head to the side. A razor-sharp black dagger was vibrating deeply into the wall right beside his ear, missing his temple by a mere inch.

?Everyone snapped their heads toward the hooded figure trailing the group, as she removed the hood.

?"....?!"

?"Viper?!!"

?"Wait... Cousin?!"

?Daniel was stunned, while the blonde-haired doctor with the round glasses stood frozen in sheer disbelief, staring wide-eyed at her secret underground relative.

?"Even if we decided to slaughter every single one of you right here, do you honestly possess the backbone to retaliate?" Viper asked coldly, a suffocating, wave of pure killing intent expanding outward to blanket the entire lobby.

?’What the hell?!! Isn’t this infamous Viper one of the most ruthless lords of the underground syndicates?! Who in their right mind would dare pick a fight with her?’ The officer thought, instantly breaking eye contact and lowering his gaze to the floor.

?"We understand completely... It was solely Zion’s reckless overestimation of his own strength that brought this upon him." Daniel quickly intervened, raising his hands in a placating gesture.

?"Hmph. We hold no inherent love for needless bloodshed, but that certainly does not mean we are intimidated by it. Let’s move out," Kelly stated evenly, striding gracefully toward the front doors. Juliana and Sara followed closely behind her, flanked by the silent, imposing iron knights.

?The dagger embedded in the wall vibrated one final time before snapping back into Viper’s open palm:

"Take care of yourself, cousin—we will have a proper catch-up once this crisis is resolved."

?Viper pulled her dark hood lower over her face, turning her back on the stunned medical staff and following the group outside.

?’That was entirely too close for comfort... If we had actually pressed the issue and provoked them then, I shudder to think what kind of retaliation Asher would have unleashed on us.’ Daniel thought to himself, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

_

?High above the lobby, Asher sat quietly by the open window frame, watching as his wives boarded their luxury vehicles and drove off in the direction of the spirit mines. He then casually glanced back down toward the remaining personnel inside the lobby:

?’All of my summoned knights are even stronger than weak EX-Rank, packing tens of millions of raw stat points into a single physical strike... How could any mortal who doesn’t even clear two million stats hope to block a direct blow?’ He let out a soft exhale:

?’Daniel is an undeniably intelligent strategist, but he’s also dangerously cunning and opportunistic; I must keep a sharp eye on his movements... As for Kelly, it somehow appears she possesses the uncanny ability to see right through my active stealth—yet how on earth is that physically possible when she is only an F-Rank? Oh well, I suppose I can satisfy my curiosity and investigate her abilities next time I take her inside a dungeon.’ He thought with a faint smile, before his physical form flickered and vanished completely from the window ledge.

?’Strange...’ Daniel raised his head, his instincts flaring as he scanned the empty upper window frame:

?’Why on earth do I suddenly have this overwhelming sensation that an apex monster was just silently observing every breath I took?’

___

[Silverspire — One Hour Later.]

[Northern Outskirts — Spirit Mine Gateway.]

"Why on earth is the Boss out here right now?" One of the guards stationed by the heavy iron gate asked, staring in bewilderment at the elderly man standing outside in casual morning wear.

"How the hell am I supposed to know that?! We should be packing up and evacuating right along with the rest of the district." The second guard snapped back in a low, tense whisper.

"You really don’t need to be so harsh about it."

"...?!"

The second guard fell instantly silent, not uttering another word.

_

On the other side of the gate, the former mine director—the "Boss"—was currently standing in a cold sweat, trembling nervously as he waited in the open air:

’I’m finally about to meet the mysterious new Boss who bought out these spirit mines some weeks ago... I just pray he doesn’t audit the low earnings records, or worse, pin the entire operational deficit entirely on my shoulders.’ He thought anxiously, slowly turning his terrified head to look at the four towering, eight-foot-tall red-armored knights standing motionlessly a short distance away.

’I was right in the middle of driving toward the evacuation zone when these freakish red giants literally materialized out of thin air, blocked my car dead in its tracks, and dragged me right back here.’ He exhaled a shaky breath:

’I was scared shitless at the time, but looking back, it’s a massive relief that my family managed to reach the underground shelter safely before all this went down.’

VOOM!

"....?!"

The guards and the former director snapped their heads toward the highway in unison, watching as two obscenely luxurious high-end luxury vehicles cruised smoothly down the sealed tarmac toward the metal mine gates.

’Those two cars alone are easily worth over twenty million dollars combined,’ the old director thought, his eyes glued to the convoy as it finally came to a smooth stop a few meters away from the entrance.

The doors swung wide open. Three breathtakingly gorgeous women stepped gracefully out of the lead vehicle, while the second car yielded a single, cloaked figure clad in a dark shadow-hood.

’Driving all the way out here to the outskirts is genuinely exhausting... If only I had brought a cold drink along.’ Viper thought to herself with a quiet sigh, trailing a few steps behind the three Madams.

"Good morning, um... How exactly may I address you?" The former director hurried forward, bowing politely as his tongue tripped over his words.

The owner he had anticipated dealing with was 100% a wealthy male, so finding himself facing three stunning young women completely derailed his prepared script.

’Are they perhaps just high-ranking subordinates? But wait—they are clearly F-Rank Awakened, while the only one carrying a terrifying aura is the cloaked woman trailing behind them. If they are mere subordinates, shouldn’t the high-ranker be the one giving orders? Why does it look like she is deferring entirely to these three?’ He debated internally, quickly deciding it was far safer to walk on solid ground than thin ice.

"Good morning, ladies... You must be the Boss’s Subordinates." He offered cautiously.

"Subordinates??"